Extra Care Support

We understand that bills aren’t always the first thing on your mind.

 

If you’re recovering from an illness, or going through other life changes affecting your finances, we want you to feel like you can talk to us about it.

 

Extra Care Support is here to help you. Our specially-trained team can help find a way forward on 0800 169 3630, with a personalised plan made just for you.

 

We can also help you understand if you’re able to claim benefits, and if necessary, put your account on hold to give you some breathing space. It’s all part of our WaterCare service.

 

How Extra Care Support can help you

We’ll do our best to build a package of support that fits you best. The easiest way to get started is to fill out our online Extra Care Support form.

 

You just need to answer some questions about you and your situation, and based on your answers, we’ll see how we can help you. The list below includes a few examples of the support we can offer, but we’ll also look into other ways to help.

 

Discounted tariffs

We have several discounted tariffs which might be suitable if you have a water meter and pay measured charges.

 

These include our LITE tariff, if you have a lower household income and our WaterSure and AquaCare Plus tariffs.

Affordable payment plans

We can work with you to create a payment plan that suits you. For example, we might offer you a plan to spread out your payments as weekly, fortnightly, or monthly instalments.

 

And if you receive certain benefits, we may be able to make your life simpler by taking payments for your water bills directly from those payments. This is part of our Water Direct initiative.

Breathing space

Having difficulty paying your bills and need some time to work through your finances? You may be eligible to enter a period of Breathing Space which will give you a short break whilst you find the best debt solution for your circumstances. Only an authorised Debt Advisor will be able to help with this and register you for Breathing Space. Why not get in contact with Step Change, CAB, Money Advice or your local Debt Support Service and see what help they can offer. 

 

If you are receiving support through the Mental Health Crisis Support Team please speak to your support worker who may also be able to request a period of Breathing Space to take the pressure off you from your debts whilst you seek help and support from them.

 

Could you save money with a meter?

Unfortunately, we can’t install new meters at the moment because of social distancing rules.

But most customers who switch to a meter save £150 each year, and the installation is completely free. Get in touch and we can add you to our to-do list for when we’re able to do this work again.

 

If you change your mind once we’ve installed it, you can switch back to unmeasured bills at any time in the first two years. That’s our Switchback Guarantee.

 

Direct support through the Anglian Water Assistance Fund

This fund might be able to help to cover the cost of bills when people are going through challenging times. We prioritise those who are most in need, but even if we aren’t able to offer you this type of support there are lots of other ways we can help.

 

If you need practical support

Our Priority Services Register is here for you. It’s completely free, and once you’ve signed up, you can stay on it for as long as you like.

 

Signing up is quick and easy, and you can also register a friend, family member, or neighbour for the service (with their permission). Or, if you’d like someone else to help you with your account, we can set them up as your ‘nominee’ so they can manage the details and receive bills for you.

 

Reach:Out – Here to Help

We understand there could be many things getting in the way of keeping on top of your bills. We also appreciate it can be hard to know what to do next. That’s why we’ve partnered with Reach:Out, a specialist organisation with a simple aim to help people find a pathway through whatever challenge they might be facing.

 

Reach:Out isn’t a debt collection agency and won’t ask you for payments. Their empathetic, friendly and helpful team (they call Pathfinders) can look at your individual circumstances to help you access free support and advice that could make a big difference.

 

Sometimes we may ask Reach:Out to contact our customers to see if they can help. We pay their fees, so you don’t have to, meaning their service is completely free to you. If you’ve not been contacted by Reach:Out and need help, please contact us or one of the organisations below for help.

 

Looking for independent advice?

We’d always like you to think you can talk to us, but we understand you also might want to find help elsewhere. The following organisations offer free, independent and confidential advice.

Independent organisations